MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY

Director: Bharat Nalluri

Stars: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Tom Payne

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

God love any director that pairs brilliance like Frances McDormand and Amy Adams together in the same film. McDormand's been a brilliant light in film since before Fargo, and Amy Adams ... well, let's just say it'll be a dark, dark day for the industry when she decides to retire. Both shine like beacons here, in a romantic comedy set in (barely) pre-World War II London.

McDormand plays Guinevere Pettigrew, a rather plain, conservative and very outspoken governess who's just been fired from her latest job by an employer so anxious to get her out, she even refuses to pay the poor, middle-aged woman her severance. Penniless and desperate for work, things don't get any better when Miss Pettigrew shows up at her agency, only to find out that she's had so many complaints lodged against her that her agency won't even send her out for work anymore. While there, however, Miss Pettigrew overhears of a job opportunity with a young American actress living in London ... and through her sheer desperation shows up at the starlet's home that very morning, pretending to be sent by her hiring agency.

What Miss Pettigrew doesn't count on is the young, beautiful, and tragically ditzy actress, Delysia (Amy Adams), who is now her employer. Delysia's first task for Miss Pettigrew is to get the naked young man - Phil, the son of a theater producer Delysia's trying to land a leading role from - out of her bed, before her boyfriend/benefactor Nick (Mark Strong) gets home. The luxury apartment Delysia lives in does, after all, belong to Nick - and as she can't seem to wake Phil, Delysia frantically implores Miss Pettigrew to help her.

The governess manages to pull it off, all the while shocked at the scandalous behavior of her new mistress - but before long it becomes apparent that Delysia has even a third young man named Michael (Lee Pace of "Pushing Daisies", who's marvelous here) on her party line, as well. Michael is Delysia's accompanist; he plays piano for her when she sings in Nick's club, and is completely head over heels in love with Delysia; in fact, that very morning he announces that he has a new musical engagement aboard an ocean liner bound for New York - a job that starts the very next day, and in fact Michael's bought two one-way tickets so that Delysia may go with him so that the two of them can marry at last.

It's about all Miss Pettigrew can handle, and she tries to resign over the torrid love life of her newest employer ... but instead, she's drawn into a whirlwind of money, high fashion, and the politics of the theater, as the rest of the film details Miss Pettigrew's first day working for Delysia - a day, indeed, in which Miss Pettigrew learns to really live at last.

This film is such a throwback to old-school classic filmmaking of the 1930's; the story is funny and heartwarming, the characters larger than life yet people you can truly care about. Frances McDormand, in particular, is at the top of her game as Miss Pettigrew; she holds the film together, and even if you think you can see where it's all going, the ride is so, so worth it. Amy Adams and Lee Pace head a great supporting cast, in what is a genuine "feel-good" movie that will leave you with a smile on your face by the end; a genuine romantic comedy that's just as much a love story from the filmmakers to those who watch it. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

P2

Director: Franck Khalfoun

Stars: Wes Bentley, Rachel Nichols, Simon Reynolds, Philip Akin

Year: 2007

Rating: R

It's Christmas Eve in New York City, and workaholic Angela (Rachel Nichols) is stuck yet again with another late night in her offices in a mid-city highrise. She's determined to get out at a reasonable hour this time, however, because her family's expecting her in Jersey ... and God knows Angela's disappointed her parents and sister enough by no-showing them. As her co-workers and secretary leave, wishing Angela a good holiday, even Mr. Harper (Simon Reynolds) stops by with a red-faced apology; it seems he tried a grope-and-grab with Angela in an elevator recently, while drunk at the office Christmas party. Like everything else in her life, Angela has no time for his contrition, accepting his apology and sending him on his merry way so she can finish her reports and get the hell out of the office.

It's not horribly late when she finally finishes, and Angela's even able to get a ride downstairs in the elevator with security guard Karl (Philip Akin) before he locks them up for the night. In the lobby, she heads for the parking garage elevators, taking one down to level two - P2 - only to find her car won't start. Worse yet, her cell phone can't even get a signal that far down in the garage. In the garage, she also runs into the young, very friendly security guard Thomas (Wes Bentley), who lets her back into the hobby ... and sort of halfheartedly offers her a share of his own Christmas dinner, since she's stranded - but Angela gently turns him down. Now irritated, tired, and loaded down with Christmas gifts (and even a Santa suit for her dad to wear), she heads back up to the lobby, where she calls a cab once her cell phone is working again.

But Karl's nowhere to be found, and when the cab pulls up in front of her building Angela finds herself locked in lobby. Signaling for him to wait, she heads back down to P2 to get the guard to help her - but instead, as the lights flicker off above her, finds herself in total darkness inside the garage. That is, until viewers - in the dim blue glow of her cell phone, spots Thomas behind right behind her. The security guard clamps a cloth tightly over her mouth, Angela struggles but soon passes out...

And thus begins one hell of a bad Christmas Eve for the hardworking woman - now in the hands of the security guard who's obsessed with her.

P2 is really good with pulling out the chills and thrills - not to mention the occasional jump in your seat. Bentley is spot-on as the "nice" security guard who happens to also be a homicidal maniac, and Rachel Nichols plays Angela with just the right mix of strength and vulnerability. I wondered, before going into this film, how much could happen in a parking garage that would keep a feature-length movie suspenseful (or even entertaining) for 90-120 minutes ... but that's exactly what this film does, as the actions of Thomas the security guard grow ever crazier, bloodier, and deadly ... and Angela learns, very fast, what she'll have to do in order to survive.

The film has its flaws (stuffing Nichols' rather ample cleavage into a slip, for obvious gratuitous jollies, is just one of them), and occasionally strains credibility - but damn, from the first scene it also yanks you right into the movie, and doesn't let up in tension until the end. For that alone the film gets high marks, and is pure adrenaline-rushing entertainment to boot.

It'll also make you think twice about ever venturing into a darkened underground parking lot alone again - ever. Whether you're male or female. And that's probably not a bad thing, either. *** - Reel Cool

MEET BILL

Director: Bernie Goldmann & Melisa Wallack

Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Banks, Logan Lerman, Jessica Alba, Timothy Olyphant

Year: 2007

Rating: R

This was, indeed, a happy surprise. I'd never seen Aaron Eckhart in anything comedic before, but after this film I hope to see him in a lot more movies with both heart and humor like Meet Bill (also known as just plain Bill). Here, he stars as the "Executive Vice-President of Human Resources" for a huge bank that his father-in-law just happens to own. Bill hates his job, hates being under the oppressive thumb of his gun-toting, animal-hunting and conservative father-in-law (Holmes Osborne) ... and, worse still, hates suspecting that his beautiful wife Jess (Elizabeth Banks) is cheating on him with a local (and extremely good-looking, and popular) television news reporter (Timothy Olyphant at his most greasy). When he catches proof of the affair on video and confronts Jess, it's just another testament to the type of life Bill has when he's the one who's supposed to feel guilty for "spying on" her.

But things change in the form of a rebellious teenaged boy obsessed with women and ladies lingerie (Logan Lerman, who is terrific here; funny and cute as hell), whom Bill is forced to mentor by his father-in-law as part of an alumni program through Bill's old prep school that the bank is involved with. Everything Bill does to push the kid away only makes the teenager fight harder and harder to spend time with Bill ... and it soon becomes obvious - as Bill gets arrested, loses his wife, and precariously puts his job in jeopardy (among other disasters) - that maybe the kid is exactly what Bill needs to cut loose what binds him so that he can be free to fly at last.

The film is excellently cast - even Jessica Alba is along for the ride, as a salesgirl in a lingerie store the kid is infatuated with - and really beautifully written to be a comedy that doesn't need a lot of slapstick or fart jokes or crude, over the top humor to make you laugh. Aaron Eckhart is so excellent as the beleaguered Bill, but his supporting cast in the film is equally first-rate (particularly Logan Lerman, and the chemistry these two have together on-screen). The second half of the film even feels a bit like a throwback to the old screwball comedies of the 1940's, when character and story outweighed just making jokes. And really, which of us over the age of, say, 35 can't relate to feeling like our lives have spun out of control at some point ... even as we wonder how to get back what we've lost?

This is a charming film with lots of heart, and an ending that may even bring a sentimental tear to your eye. It's one man's journey of finding himself, told with insight and humor; once you've met Bill, you'll be glad you did. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM

Director: Kenji Fukasaku & Kenta Fukasaku

Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ai Maeda, Shugo Oshinari, Riki Takeuchi

Year: 2003

Rating: NR

(in Japanese w/English subtitles)

Wow, has this film garnered a lot of anger from fans. But then, any follow-up to the intense, outstanding, and jaw-dropping Battle Royale was bound to come under some pretty harsh scrutiny; the original, a well-deserved monster hit in Asia and around the world, is nothing short of a brilliant, bloody film that knocked you on your behind with its story, characters, violence ... and social commentary.

(NOTE: one spoiler here, for those who haven't seen the first film - a review of which, by the way, can be found on this blog. Sorry, can't be helped.)

Tatsuya Fujiwara (the Death Note films) reprises his role as Shuya Nanahara. It's been three years since he survived the massacre from the first film, and in that time Shuya has formed a band of terrorists, called the Wild Seven, who have "declared war on all adults" in retaliation of the "Battle Royale Act" that has seen many teens in Japan murdering each other in the name of "discipline". Shuya's small army has been responsible for some major destruction in the country, and to fight back the government has now mandated "Battle Royale II" - and, as the film opens, the first middle-school class of kids is (as in the first film) again drugged, fitted with explosive dog collars, and taken to a military base for disbursement.

The rules are basically the same ... only this time, with no training, the teens are told they must go to war (in fact, the class chosen is a group of rebellious troublemakers thrown into school together for this reason, so the implication is that society loses nothing if they all die). In full fatigues and battle gear, armed with guns, the kids are sent to the island where the Wild Seven are known to be hiding in a well-protected fortress. Their mission? Kill Shuya Nanahara within three days - or die.

The rules of the dog collars are the same as in the first film - and indeed, we see some of the "explosive" results, as in the first film, of those who refuse to go. As an extra bonus, the kids are partnered up against their will, and if one teen goes more than fifty feet from his/her partner, both their collars explode. Further, when one student is killed - say, a boy - the girl with the corresponding student's number's collar will also go off. Evidently this is to encourage the kids to watch out for each other this time - an interesting twist on the first film, where their only goals was to murder each other to stay alive. Add to this that another transfer student, Shiori (Ai Maeda), is added to the group of forty-one kids - and you have another potential plot twist, as Shiori is the daughter of the teacher who started the slaughter in the first film, and she has her own score to settle with Shuya Nanahara.

The students are sent in inflatable boats to the island - and even before they've beached, the slaughter begins. Here, the movie turns into a genuine war film, with jittering cinematography and lots of action, as the kids make their way to the Wild Seven compound, even as their numbers are already starting to decrease dramatically.

To say anything more might be giving the story away - and yes, this is a flawed film compared to the near-perfect original. Shuya Nanahara's character is more complex here, and Fujiwara gives an excellent performance. Ai Maeda is also great as Shiori, and Shugo Oshinari really chews up the screen whenever he's on it, as one of the rebellious teen soldiers who is sort of the equivalent of Shuya's character in the first film. But because, I think, of the war theme here, plus the film's concentration of the kids as a group, the film takes a lot less time on character development; you're only given insight into a few of the forty-two students' lives, so it's a bit harder this time around to buy into the teens emotionally (except for the few lead characters). That said, the performances this time around are all still good, and if anything the film's major weakness is a too-pat ending that's a bit unrealistic ... and a bit of a wet blanket compared to the huge, climactic bang the film leads up to all along.

But I still liked it. Quite a lot, actually. The war idea is a natural follow-up, plotwise, to the original idea - at least, if you wanted to do a sequel, and do it bigger and better than the first. And while Battle Royale II: Requiem (there's also a re-edited "Director's Cut" version out - Battle Royale II: Revenge - but I've yet to find it) is bigger than the first, it's definitely not better. And even if a sequel wasn't needed, this is still more than worth seeing - if for no other reason than because it was the director's last film; sadly, Kenji Fukasaku died during the making of the movie, and it had to be finished by his son Kenta. I think all the anger tossed at this movie is undeserved - though not unexpected, when holding it up to the must-see original. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

MAMBO ITALIANO

Director: Emile Gaudreault

Stars: Luke Kirby, Paul Sorvino, Ginette Reno, Claudia Ferri, Peter Miller, Mary Walsh

Year: 2003

Rating: R

A charming, funny, warm and very refreshing comedy set in Canada, Mambo Italiano centers itself around the eccentric (to say the least), typical yet stereotypical - and VERY Italian - Barberini family. Luke Kirby stars as Angelo, the only son of hardworking Italian parents (Ginette Reno and the often-hilarious Paul Sorvino) who moved to Quebec to make a better life for their children. Angelo grew up the typical nerd, bullied and pushed around at school - at least, whenever his best buddy Nino Paventi wasn't around. Nino always took up for the smaller, slighter Angelo, protecting him from any harm ... but when the boys grew into young men and Nino developed into a handsome and muscular young man, his sudden popularity forced Nino to turn his back on Angelo, in order to protect his new reputation as cool.

This abandonment turned Angelo to spending more time with his mother's sister, and Aunt Yolanda - who'd always wanted to be an actress in the movies, prior to her death - taught Angelo his love for the arts, developing his dream to one day become a television writer. When Aunt Yolanda died, it was more than Angelo could bear - his last best friend was gone, and God knows his sister Anna (Claudia Ferri, wonderful here) nor his parents had any real time for him. That's when Angelo really turned to television, to keep his dream alive.

But as if being Italian wasn't difficult enough, Angelo also harbors one other secret: he's gay. Having never been a part of the gay community, or even having been to the gay section of town (nor does he have any interest in doing so), Angelo just knows that he has these feelings inside; that, in fact, he's had these feelings inside him since he was a young boy crushing on his best friend Nino. Those feelings come rushing back when Angelo accidentally meets up with Nino (a hunky Peter Miller) again - Nino, who is now a handsome, rugged police officer - and on a camping trip in the woods one weekend later, the two young men cross the boundaries of friendship and become lovers at last.

They move in together soon afterwards, sharing a two-bedroom apartment for show, even though they share the same bed. To their friends and families, the two are simply roommates - mainly because if the truth got out about their closeted relationship, especially with their respective (and VERY Italian) families, it would make World War II look like a firecracker. But Angelo's frustration over his job, lack of success with his dream, and living a closeted lifestyle with the man he's loved since childhood finally forces him to crack, and he blurts out the true nature of his and Nino's relationship to his parents and sister ... starting a series of events that rather resembles, indeed, World War II - events that may cost him the man he loves; a man all too happy to live in the closet, even if Angelo is not.

This movie is hilarious. A terrific script and one hell of a brilliant and very funny cast make this one of my favorite comedies in some time. Kirby is so great as the put-upon Angelo, Ferri equally good as his totally messed-up sister - one who sees shrink after shrink because she's too embarrassed to ever go to the same one twice ... which is typical of the truly funny over-the-top joy the film has in depicting what it's like to be Italian. Reno and Sorvino, as Angelo's parents, glow in every scene they're in; a genuine dynamic duo of comedy on-screen. Mary Walsh, as Nino's mother (who's determined to find her boy a nice girl to marry, soon as his "phase" is over) also adds so much humor and dimension to the cast, and has some of the funniest lines in the film.

I loved this movie, and am sorry it took me so long to see it. Catch it on DVD if you can (the cable channel Logo runs it over and over, but in edited form), to enjoy every moment spent with the Barberinis - in a film with heart, character, emotion, a few tears, and more laughs than Comedy Central can rustle up in an entire evening. What a sweet and funny - even touching - film that deserves to be seen. **** - Reel Awesome

WITHOUT A PADDLE: NATURE'S CALLING

Director: Ellory Elkayem

Stars: Oliver James, Kristopher Turner, Rik Young, Madison Riley, Amber McDonald

Year: 2009

Rating: PG-13

Ben (Oliver James) and Zach (Kristopher Turner) have been best friends since grade school. A pair or nerds who came into their own (sort of) in high school, Zach's always been the class clown while Ben was the shy brain ... but through it all they've stuck together. As this direct-to-DVD, sort-of sequel to 2004's Without a Paddle opens, the boys (played by young teen actors) have just begun their freshman year of high school, and already Ben has fallen for the school's earth-conscious environmental activist, Heather - having eagerly been the first to sign her petition banning dissection in the school's biology lab. But when Heather is expelled from school a few days later for some radical behavior, Ben is crestfallen - smitten by an unrequited love that's to haunt him for years to come.

Flash-forward to both men in their early-to-mid twenties. Zach is still the same free spirit - a cute, laidback cut-up who works as a CNA in a nursing home for the elderly. He loves his patients, truly interacts with and cares for them - and his patients love him in return. Zach still loves his buddy Ben, too - but now Ben's a young paralegal in an upscale law firm, and has so much work dumped on him he seems to have no time or even desire to hang out with Zach anymore. The two best friends have begun growing apart, something we can all relate to, and though Zach keeps trying Ben just doesn't seem too, too interested.

Until Zach gets an odd request from a dying patient. Old Mrs. Bessler (sweetly portrayed by Ellen Albertini Dow) has a bad heart, and hasn't much time. She's one of Zach's favorite people at the home, and in turn she dotes on Zach a lot; so much so, she makes her last request on earth of him: to go to the woods in rural Portland (Oregon) where her granddaughter disappeared a few years before, and bring her granddaughter back to see her before she dies. It's a strange request - one that Zach doesn't even know how to begin - but he's unable to say no to Mrs. Bessler, who hands him a file folder with all the information she has on where her granddaughter could be.

And when Zach opens the folder, the first thing he sees is a photo of the young woman - and immediately recognizes her as Heather, the now-grown-up version of the same girl Ben had fallen for in high school. It's the final push he needs to convince Ben to go along with him, and the two - along with Mrs. Bessler's British step-grandson Nigel (played effectively annoying by Rik Young), who has his own agenda for making the trip - rent some gear and set off to find the missing girl ... unaware just how prepared they are for life in the wild.

The film, from here, becomes a buddy film, as Ben and Zach re-bond as friends - and weather everything from Nigel's annoying stories, to a harrowing water-rafting ride, to local yokels who steer them toward Heather (who now, supposedly, calls herself "Earthchild"), to some particularly ferocious and hyperactive squirrels (in one of the funniest sequences in the film - though way too short) ... all of this while unknowingly being watched and stalked through the woods by a pair of sinister guys who may or may not be a pair of ex-con brothers with a particular grudge against Ben.

Oliver James and Kristopher Turner shine in this film - both are in fine form, and Turner in particular is a terrific young actor who's long gone unappreciated in the industry. Rik Young makes for a good third wheel - annoying at first, but the character Nigel eventually does grow on you.

And the film's not bad, it's just not ... anything special. Nothing viewers haven't seen before, and the laughs are more intermittent than they are constant. Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling doesn't suck - it's just not anything too special. Good for an evening's entertainment, and even better than your average direct-to-DVD title ... but beyond James, Turner and Young, it's otherwise forgettable at best. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

MAGIC KITCHEN

Director: Chi-Ngai Lee

Stars: Sammi Cheng, Andy Lau, Jerry Yan, Maggie Q, Nicola Cheung, Michael Wong

Year: 2004

Rating: NR

(in Cantonese w/English subtitles)

A sweet, charming romantic dramedy, Magic Kitchen stars two Asian pop sensations - Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau - in a film about food and love and finding your passion in life.

Sammi Cheng plays Yau, a fifth-generation chef in Hong Kong who is descended from a family of women with a true talent for cooking. Problem is, Yau's grandmother's grandmother sort of "stole" her talents from the man who loved her - a man who spiritually transferred his talents to his beloved, only to be betrayed - and since then, all the women of Yau's family are destined to become great chefs ... but have also had a curse put on them that says they will never have luck in romance until they pay back the injustices done to family of the man who gave his talents away for love. True to form, Yau's father left the family before she was even born, leaving Yau's mother even more obsessed with cooking - but soon after opening her own restaurant, Yau's mom fell ill and died, leaving Yau to run things on her own.

And with her mother's brilliant, home-made recipe book, Yau's done just that - but her heart and soul aren't in the cooking. In fact, she rather dislikes being a chef, but feels it's her calling. And as she's turned her mom's restaurant (which more resembles a private home set up with tables, than it does a restaurant) into a financial and critical success (thanks to the recipe book), Yau sort of feels stuck with her lot in life - as well as with her hunky young assistant chef, Ho (Taiwanese pop music star Jerry Yan), who is obviously infatuated with her.

A trip to Tokyo to check into an invitation to appear on an "Iron Chef"-like TV show changes things, however, when - while there scouting out the situation - Yau runs into her first love (and former high school tutor) Chuen Yao (Andy Lau). Chuen Yao's now a highly successful businessman, still athletic and handsome, and Yau has never quite gotten over him - even as she finds out, when back in Hong Kong, that he's now dating (and about to become engaged to) one of her best friends, May (an absolutely stunning Maggie Q). Throw in Yau's other, more sexually free best friend Kwai (Nicola Cheung) and her boyfriend Mook (Michael Wong) - and between all the players, you have a recipe (pun fully intended) for misunderstandings, infidelity, and unrequited love ... as Yau struggles through it all while still trying to decide if she should appear on the "King Chef" show!

The cast makes the film work very well; there's real heart and soul here (though Jerry Yan's obviously still new to the acting thing here, and it occasionally shows). Sammi Cheng is sweet as the put-upon Yau, and Andy Lau (as always) turns in a great performance. Even the supporting cast of Asian celeb actors that includes Daniel Wu, Stephen Fung (in what ends up a hilarious role) and the great Anthony Wong Chau-Sang all contribute greatly to the film.

Magic Kitchen is a sweet comedy/romance that's maybe a bit schmaltzy in the end - but charming and well worth seeing, if nothing else than for the smile it will put on your face. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

HAIRSPRAY

Director: Adam Shankman

Stars: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Elijah Kelley

Year: 2007

Rating: PG

Another film I fought long and hard NOT to see, Hairspray turns out to be a fun, colorful, and very cool film - a rather "cleaned up," almost Disney-esque version of the original John Waters version (a brilliant film). This Hairspray doesn't have the quirks and edginess of Waters' original (and those who saw this version first - and liked it - probably won't like Waters' version as much, if at all) ... nor does it have Divine, the outspoken and wickedly funny Edna who (along with Ricki Lake) made the first film so much fun. But the 2007 version has a lot going for it, including some excellent musical numbers and one heck of a great cast.

Nikki Blonsky stars as the heavyset teenaged girl Tracy Turnblad - a much gentler, more soft-spoken yet still strong version of the character Ricki played in the original. Here, it's 1962 and Tracy's obsession is the same: every day she races home with her best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes, perfect in the part) to watch "The Corny Collins Show" on her local station in Baltimore. Sort of an "American Bandstand" for the high school set, the live broadcast is hosted by hottie Corny Collins (James Marsden, who with each role proves himself more chameleon-like in his craft), and features local high school students who are very attractive, very well-groomed dancers. Tracy wants on the show bad; in fact, she wants to be a regular dancer on the show - and when the opportunity to audition comes up, it's all she can do to beg her overprotective mother (John Travolta, not only in a fat suit but also in drag) to allow her to try out.

But the lead female dancer on the show - and currently reigning Miss Hairspray - is Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow) ... a mean-spirited Barbie doll with money and a mother (Michelle Pfeiffer, who just chews up the screen here every time she's on it) who happens to be the station manager of the television station Corny Collins' show is broadcast from. Amber wants none of the short, overweight and obviously-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks Tracy, and indeed Tracy's initial audition for the show is pretty much a disaster that leaves the girl leaving with both her hopes and self-esteem crushed.

Which is where Link Larkin (the almost-pretty Zac Efron) - lead male dancer and Amber's boyfriend - steps in. He likes Tracy, loves her talent ... and through a twist of fate, so does Corny Collins, who happens to catch Tracy's moves and puts her on the show. Soon Tracy outshines Amber in popularity - so much so, she even threatens Amber's crown for this years' upcoming Miss Hairspray pageant on the show.

But Tracy has other things on her mind. Corny Collins' show is segregated; Black dancers are restricted to only being able to appear on the show one day out of the month - and even then, are relegated to their own cordoned-off space where they are not allowed to interact in any way with the white cast members. This infuriates Tracy - and it doesn't sit too well on the shoulders of local singer/celebrity Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), either, whose son Seaweed (Elijah Kelley) dances on the show. In 1962 Baltimore, such things just aren't done - but when Tracy decides to use her fame and stature to try and integrate "The Corny Collins Show" for good, she's in for a fight that results in her being wanted by the police for a trumped-up assault charge.

The film's "message" about integration in the 1960's is generously laced with plenty of humor, and even more music and dance (seriously, I think a number or two could have been cut from the film - or maybe a couple of numbers shortened - and it would have been just as good). The cast is brilliant - even John Travolta, who I was so dreading in the film (just from the still photos, I thought the makeup and such looked fake as hell - but in the film, it pretty much works). Travolta is no Divine, but he puts Edna over well. Very well, and even I have to admit I was impressed. Nikki Blonsky is wonderful - full of life, energy and heart - and she's backed up by a terrific cast and skillful direction that make the film a lot of fun to watch from start to finish.

As long as I can keep it separate in my head from the original Waters' film - and they're just different enough in tone, I think I can - then I can honestly say I liked this version a lot. Maybe not quite as much as the first - but this film is just plain fun, and full of music that is toe-tappingly addictive. A real time. **** - Reel Awesome

MIRRORS

Director: Alexandre Aja

Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Mary Beth Peil

Year: 2008

Rating: R

(NOTE: I saw the "Unrated" version of the film.) The concept of this film - that mirrors (or mirror images) don't reflect us, so much as an entire world beyond us - is a kind of a cool one. As executed (no pun intended) here by Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes), however, the concept falls a bit flat with a fairly emotionless script that has a few good-sized holes in the plot.

Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben Carson, a quick-tempered New York City cop currently on probation while the police investigate his accidental shooting of an undercover officer. The incident has taken its toll on Ben, too - he became an alcoholic and lost his wife and two children, now sleeping on his sister's couch - but he's on the mend and off the booze, and has just landed a job he doesn't want as a security guard for the Mayflower Corporation. Trouble is, we the viewers saw - in the first ten minutes of the film - what happened to the guard Ben is replacing ... and know things are going to get bad for Ben again real fast.

The Mayflower was a mammoth department store on 6th Avenue that was torched years earlier by a guy named Terrence Berry. The fire killed several dozen people, wounding many more, and what's left are the scorched, skeletal remains of the great monolith of a store, blocked off by wooden construction fences while the powers that be decide what to do with it. Ben's duty as the night watchman is to patrol the store every couple of hours, to make sure things are okay - but from his first night through the store, Ben soon learns that things inside its great walls are not okay.

There are great walls of mirrors throughout every floor, and over his first nights on the job Ben sees some horrific images in them - including himself on fire, when one evening his mirror image spontaneously bursts into flames and Ben hits the ground screaming, feeling the pain as if it were happening for real. Worse yet, the incidents start happening to him outside the Mayflower as well - in any mirror, or reflecting surface - and when his sister Angela (Amy Smart, fairly wasted here) is visited by the spirits in the mirror - in one hell of a grisly manner - Ben has no choice (especially upon realizing that his wife and kids are next) but to find out what the mirrors want from him ... and why they spell out the name "Esseker" whenever he asks what they seek.

Mirrors isn't a horrible, or even bad movie ... it's just sort of - there. The special effects are very cool, the gore tolerable but still gross enough to please fans of blood and guts (though the body count in this film may be too low for such aficionados), and Kiefer Sutherland (along with his gravelly voice) turns in a solid-if-not-great performance as troubled cop Ben Carson.

But the story has its problems, and occasionally characters act and do things that don't seem realistic in light of their personality or the situation they're in. Mary Beth Peil has an outstanding supporting role in the film as a nun who holds the key to the whole story, and Paula Patton does a great job as Ben's estranged wife Amy. Even the ending has a nice little surprise to cap off the film.

But as whole, Mirrors just ... left a sort of void in me as a viewer. It's like all the parts - or at least, most of them - are there all right, yet somehow it all doesn't seem to come off as well as it should. Kind of like that picture - or mirror - on the wall that you've just hung up: it looks straight, and yet it doesn't ... and no matter what you do to tilt it, to the left and then to the right, it just never seems quite right. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

THE FAMILY THAT PREYS

Director: Tyler Perry

Stars: Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates, Sanaa Lathan, Cole Hauser, Rockmond Dunbar, Robin Givens, KaDee Strickland, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

I have my problems with Tyler Perry. To me he's not quite polished as a writer or director; his films always come off as feeling like they could have used another trip through the editing room; his scripts another rewrite. The Family That Preys has the same sort of feel to it - heck, in one scene even Sanaa Lathan's flubbing of her own lines is quite obvious in the film, though Perry keeps the footage in - but there are two wonderful differences in this film that make it stand out from the rest of Mr. Petty's work: Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates.

It's been awhile since I saw a film with Woodard in it, and this one made me realize all over again what a brilliant talent she is. Here she plays Alice Pratt, the owner of her own diner in Atlanta, and we meet Alice on the day of her oldest daughter's wedding ... which is being held at the estate of Alice's best friend, Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates). Alice and Charlotte have been best friends for over thirty years, and Charlotte is the head of a huge corporation and has loads and load of money, so as her gift has paid for the entire wedding - something the bride, Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) sorely resents, even calling her own mother a "mammy" for having a rich friend Charlotte as her friend.

But the wedding goes well, as Andrea marries Chris (the talented Rockmond Dunbar, in one of the best performances of the film) - and at the reception, Andrea and Chris are congratulated on their marriage by Charlotte's son William (Cole Hauser), who summarily offers Chris a potential construction job with his company, as well as promises Andrea a position when she is out of school and has her Masters in finance.

Flash forward to four years later. Chris and Andrea have a son, both work for William Cartwright, and a beautiful home in Atlanta - a home that Chris wonders how they can afford. Chris is okay with working for the Cartwrights, but plans one day to branch out with his own construction firm with his buddy (and Andrea's brother-in-law), Ben (Tyler Perry; yeah, he's an actor, too). But Andrea - who seems to have developed a real stick in her butt - practically laughs at the idea, and as the film goes on two things become quite apparent right away: she gets off on belittling her husband, and is more than just an employee to William Cartwright.

Meanwhile, William (not such a nice guy, himself) is shocked to learn he's been passed over for the position of COO at his mother's company, in favor of a high-powered female executive named Abby (Robin Givens), whom Charlotte has stolen away from another successful company. William makes no pretense of liking Abby from the beginning, and is further ticked off when Charlotte tells him he in no way is ready to take over her company any time soon (it seems Williams has his own issues - and past) ... and the stage is set for the hocked-off William to get revenge on his mother. But confident with Abby in charge, Charlotte has different plans; she talks Alice into turning over the diner to her younger daughter Pam (Taraji P. Henson, another reason to watch this film) for awhile, and the two take off in a vintage convertible for a drive across country - something Charlotte's been wanting to do for years.

And indeed, as their families (and, potentially, businesses) fall apart while they're away, Charlotte and Alice head west for some sweet, often funny adventures that are by far some of the best moments of the film. The reason behind Charlotte's wanting to take the trip should become obvious to anyone almost right away (subtle, it ain't), but that doesn't hurt the ride there, as Woodard and Bates' scenes really pack a punch on-screen, every time they're together.

It all comes down to a few final confrontations, and I won't say how the film ends ... but let's just say if you've seen Tyler Perry's work before, it'll be a no-brainer what happens to the good guys and what happens to the bad guys. And maybe that's my main problem with the film; the good guys are totally good, and the bad guys totally bad. Character development is fairly two-dimensional here in that sense, though God knows the film is cast with enough talent to still make it work.

But this is Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates' film, all the way. While they're on, you can't help but smile, and be reminded of how important - and joyous - friendship can really be. The Family That Preys isn't a great film ... but if renting or watching it on cable, it's more than worth your time to see. *** - Real Cool

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

Director: Norman Foster

Stars: Peter Lorre, Thomas Beck, Virginia Field, Sig Ruman, Murray Kinnell, Lotus Long

Year: 1937

Rating: NR

When I was young, on WGN every Sunday at noon I grew to love the "mystery movie" channel 9 would show every week. Depending on what week, it would alternate between the old Universal Sherlock Holmes films featuring Basil Rathbone ... or the 20th Century Fox films of the 1930's and 1940's featuring the "great oriental detective" Charlie Chan.

It was only years later, as an adult, that I discovered Mr. Moto. As played by Peter Lorre (a Hungarian Jew of NO Asian descent), the Mr. Moto of the one film I'd seen in the series up to now (Mr. Moto's Last Warning) wouldn't exactly win any awards for political correctness today - but there was always something engaging about the short, bespectacled curio shop owner who sometimes played detective.

And besides - when isn't Peter Lorre a treat to watch on-screen?

I've been wanting to see all the films since learning they were out on DVD, and have started with the first in the series - Think Fast, Mr. Moto. In this one, Kentaro Moto (Lorre) is dealing with jewel and drug smugglers who've been somehow sneaking their cargos from China into San Francisco. When the son of the owner of the Hitchings shipping line, Robert Hitchings Jr. (Thomas Beck), boards an ocean liner bound for Shanghai - with a mysterious letter on him addressed to the head of his father's offices there - Moto books a stateroom near the young Hitchings and is determined to keep both him and the letter safe ... mostly from a crooked ship's steward that, in one cool scene, helps Mr. Moto keep his ju jitsu talents in order.

On board, things get further complicated when Bob Hitchings Jr. meets a glamorous young beauty named Gloria Danton (Virginia Field), and falls head over heels for a woman who might not be all she seems. As the ship docks in Shanghai and Bob's father's letter turns up missing, it's up to Mr. Moto to find the letter - catch the smuggler's - and maybe even kill a few bad guys in the process.

Lorre is great here as the Japanese detective who's an expert marksman, a master of disguise, and even an amateur magician. He gives Moto the right tone and nuances that make the character convincing and likable ... without straying too far into the parody or stereotype. The fight scenes are swift and fun, the story light and with a satisfying conclusion.

The bottom line is, Mr. Moto is very, very cool. And this first in the series, if you like classic films (and especially if you like the late, great Peter Lorre), should make you want to see the rest. *** - Reel Cool

DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Takeshi Kaga, Nana Katase

Year: 2006

Rating: NR

(in Japanese w/English subtitles)

Picking up pretty much right where the first film left off, Death Note: The Last Name is less a sequel than it is a continuation of the first film. When I saw the first, it was without knowledge that a second one even existed - and when Death Note ended on an almost gut-crunching cliffhanger, only to show a trailer for the "sequel" after the end credits, it was all I could do to wait until I got my hands on the second film (which officially releases in the USA on 10 February 2009, by the way). Now having watched it, I'm sorry to see the end of the road here; Death Note was one of the best films I saw in 2008, and it was truly difficult saying goodbye to these characters with this second film (though, fortunately, I also have L: Change the World - a spin-off film featuring the character of Light, played by Ken'ichi Matsuyama - that I'm anxious to see). Even so, I'm glad I got to see this inventive film at last; it was well worth the wait.

(NOTE: Reviews here don't ever contain spoilers, but it would probably behoove you to see the first Death Note before reading this review. Or, at least, read my review of the first film, which can be found in the archives on this blog, before reading this one. Just a warning. It'll also save you some confusion, probably.)

Death Note: The Last Name picks up where the first left off, all right - with Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara, quickly become one of my favorite actors) having succeeded in not only throwing off any suspicions by the police that he is indeed mastermind killer Kira ... but also accomplishing his goal of actually joining the police task force (led by his own police chief father) in their hunt to find and bring Kira to justice. From this new vantage point, Light is assured of being able to track the cops' every move, therefore making it that much harder for the police to ever get too close to discovering that he actually is Kira - the now-world famous "god of justice" who has been singlehandedly lowering crime rates around the world (but particularly in Japan) by killing off all the world's criminals with the Death Note ... a notebook in which anyone whose name is written in shall die.

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But what Light hasn't counted on is the startling arrival on the scene of a second Kira. Again picking up where the first film left off, pop singer/actress/TV spokes-model Misa Amane (Erika Toda) is just beginning to learn the powers of the Death Note that she was given at the end of the first film. With Rem - her shinigami (god of death ... and the being who gave her the Death Note) - in tow, Misa develops her own plans with the Death Note; plans that she hopes to use to bring Kira out into the open, so that the two of them can work together in bringing the world to a new order. Misa, totally enamored of Kira, fancies herself his disciple and is determined to find him.

But when her crude, less-polished murders begin with innocent people getting killed left and right, even the police - still led by the mysterious mastermind detective "L" (Ken'ichi Matsuyama, even better here than he was in the first film), who is still unconvinced of Light's innocence - soon realize they are on a manhunt for two killers who could prove themselves insurmountable if they combined forces. Worse yet, the second Kira seems to be able to kill without even knowing the victim's name; just seeing the person's face is enough for this second Kira to cause death within minutes.

Light is shocked by news of the second Kira - even more so by the fact that this Kira seems to have the eyes of the shinigami, something he desperately needs if he's to finally kill off his one true opponent in this game ... L. Per the rules of the Death Note, the shinigami can see not only a human's full name when they gaze at them, but also how many years of living they have left. And if the owner of the Death Note is willing to trade half of his (or her) remaining life in exchange for the shinigami's gaze, they too can see the names of their victims simply by gazing at them - giving them a far easier opportunity to write that person's name in the Death Note, killing them.

And when Misa finally tracks down Light, knowing now that he is Kira, the two indeed join forces so that Light can kill L ... and all it will take is one introduction of L to Misa, which Light will provide to secure the genius detective's fate at last.

Or will it?

From here this complex, intense and puzzle-like film's plot folds back and in on itself for the rest of the film. Indeed, the storyline quickly develops more twists and turns than a gigantic pretzel - particularly with the introduction of a third Kira - and throughout it all everything boils down to the contest between Light and L; truly, each character pulls plenty of his own tricks to stay one step ahead of his opponent, as well as plan strategies in his next few moves to outdo the other (much like the chess game Light and L play early on in the film, when Light first joins the task force). As in the first film, you never quite know what Light has up his sleeve, but are simply pulled along for the ride until his ingenious plot is fully revealed - at which time, you will indeed be surprised. It's a strong, long and very twisted storyline - yes, even more so than the first - and this is definitely a film that you have to sit and watch throughout, if you don't want to be confused by the end (in fact, it's a great mental workout to boot; a truly well-done story).

Fujiwara and Matsuyama, as Light and L respectively, turn in great performances as the yin and yang of justice - one slowly driven to madness by his godlike power to kill, the other determined to see true justice done for the sake of maintaining the order of society. Both are stronger here than even in the first film, though Fujiwara's Light seems even more emotionally detached and distant than in part one. Truly, Light has become a monster in his determination to build his idea of a perfect world.

And the finale (also full of surprises, and twists of its own) all boils down to the question of whose name shall be the last name written in the Death Note; who shall remain standing while the other perishes. The two-hour and twenty-minute trip getting to that answer is extraordinary - the finale truly touching, and also somehow perfect in the way it brings full closure to the tale.

God, how I love these films. And how sad it is to have them over. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

BATTLE ROYALE

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tara Yamamoto, "Beat" Takeshi

Year: 2000

Rating: NR

(in Japanese w/English subtitles)

This is one disturbing, violent, intense and thought-provoking film; one that will stay with you long after you see it, and have you asking questions not only about yourself but, those around you that you call your "friends".

Set in Japan just after the new millennium, Battle Royale briefly introduces viewers to a Japan that has collapsed in on itself. Unemployment and crime are at all-time levels, and both the economy and people's believe in their nation has all but collapsed. Even in schools, kids are either misbehaving and out of control, or boycotting school altogether ... and the country's newest law for controlling the youth of Japan - a law designed as both punishment as well to teach students obedience and strength, is where the story begins.

Tatsuya Fujiwara (Death Note) stars as Shuya, a 9th grade middle school student orphaned when his father hung himself at home. Shuya found the body one day after school, and in turn went to live in a foster home, where he met his best friend Nobu. The buddies are on a rowdy school bus one afternoon, coming back from school ... when Shuya, who has fallen asleep, suddenly wakes up to find it's night time outside - and not only is the bus still riding along, but all his fellow classmates are also asleep on the moving bus. He has just enough time to see that the driver and a uniformed female chaperone on the bus are wearing gas masks ... before he's knocked unconscious by the female "guard" -

And, much later that night, the entire class begins to stir and wake up on the grimy floor of what looks like an abandoned classroom in the middle of nowhere. As the confused, drugged students all slowly come to, they begin to notice that each of them is wearing a metallic-silver collar with a light sensor in front ... and that's when the fatigue-clad soldiers march in, led by one of their teachers, Kitano ("Beat" Takeshi).

Kitano, just as sick of the behavior of today's students as anyone else, calmly informs the class that they've been randomly chosen, by impartial lottery, and flown to a deserted island to participate in the latest program aimed at corralling Japan's corrupted youth: Battle Royale. As he plays an up-tempo, almost MTV-like Japanese video outlying the rules, the deadly game the middle-school students are about to play unfolds horrifically on their faces throughout the room.

Simply put, the teens all have three days to kill each other. They will be given a pack of food, bottles of water, a map and a flashlight - what they need to survive - but each pack will also contain a different weapon that each student is supposed to use to either kill, or defend himself against, his or her fellow students. There are 40 students from their class, the "B Class," in all; in three days' time, only one must remain alive in order to leave the island - otherwise, the sensors in each necklace of those students remaining will be activated and explode, killing whoever is left. Try and take off the collar? Ditto. And to further complicate matters, Kitano has place an additional two "transfer" students into the class - two guys who look older and infinitely more dangerous than the uniform-clad 9th graders that fill the room.

The rules of the game are, naturally, met with outrage and anger - none of which is taken lightly, as Kitano dispatches a couple of the students himself, in order to show the seriousness of the game (after displaying the bloody corpse of the class' homeroom teacher for the students, early on, to show he means business). One by one the students' names are called, and each picks up his or her personal bag from the bus before being tossed his (or her) military-issue survival kit bag and running from the room.

The students - basketball teammates, cheerleaders, many of them good friends within the walls of B Class - are immediately forced to take a stand once let loose in the jungle. Some take to killing right away, survival mode kicking into high gear, while others simply run and hide and try to figure out what to do ... and still others decide the battle is over already, by killing themselves rather than taking the lives of their friends. Some of the students even try to form alliances with each other, in order to survive - but knowing that only one of them can survive in three days' time, and still remain alive and make it home, brings out the suspicion and fear in everyone. And also, in some cases, the "kill or be killed" rules of war. As Shuya simply tries to find a way to escape with the girl he loves (Aki Maeda), it becomes apparent to both of them that some friends have become enemies - and all rules of society no longer apply.

Again, this is an intense and violent film with more than its share of surprises - and heartbreaks. Sometimes it comes off as almost a black comedy, but the tension level is, at times, almost too hard to bear. This is one movie that will have you wondering what you would do in a similar situation ... but more importantly, what those who you think you call friends might do as well. It's an action/suspense film bristling with social commentary that depicts the ultimate generation gap between adults and teens in a society that's simply run out of both patience and any other solutions. Battle Royale has edge-of-your-seat suspense, but will also bring a tear to your eye and leave your mind haunted by its images and storyline for some time after viewing. It's brilliant filmmaking, and deserves to be seen. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

CASINO ROYALE

Director: Martin Campbell

Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright

Year: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Yeah, shamefaced as I am about it, I have to admit I only just now got around to seeing Casino Royale - Daniel Craig's first outing as James Bond from 2006. I've always been hit or miss with my tastes of the various James Bond films - overall, my vote is definitely with Connery for the best Bond, although there are Roger Moore Bond films I like ... and I especially loved On Her Majesty's Secret Service for storyline with Diana Rigg's character ... etc., etc.

But with Daniel Craig, it's maybe the first time my eyes have been opened to a fully-realized James Bond. A Bond full of ego and the intelligence to back it up. A Bond without pity or remorse, and truly deserving of his "00"/license to kill status ... who, quite possibly has fallen in love for the first time in his life.

That "00" status is afforded to Bond within the first few moments of the film, after his second kill before even the credits roll. Here we are re-introduced to Bond's, in his first adventure just after getting his "00" status; an adventure that begins with a harrowing chase scene throughout a construction site in Africa. Here Bond is a killing machine, a loose cannon, relentless and breaking every rule in his Terminator-like pursuit of the bad guy; truly, this Bond knows his mission, and won't let anything (or anyone) short of death stand in his way of achieving it. And achieve it he does, in the opening breath-taker, as Bond ends up with the vital piece of information he needs that leads him that much closer to finding the man who's currently banking and financing a good deal of the world's current terrorist organizations.

Judi Dench co-stars as M, and with this film I can think of no one more perfect for the role. She ignites the screen whenever she's on it, no more so than when she's beyond exasperated with Bond for his lack of obedience and tact; truly, when she tells Bond "do it again and I'll have you killed", she goes head to head with one of the deadliest secret agents alive ... and it's her you fear. Only M, it seems, has any kind of pull on Bond's leash - one that, here, stretches long enough to send Bond all over the world (Uganda, Miami, the Bahamas, and finally to Montenegro) in his pursuit of Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen, excellent and totally up for the job of Bond villain), the terrorists' money-man who weeps blood for tears. The chase and fight scenes that lead up to the final game of Texas Hold 'Em poker at Casino Royale - a game in which winner takes all of a pot over $110 million - are extraordinary; real adrenaline rushes that depict Bond as a real man capable of getting hurt, and not the superhero of some of the past films. But even the poker game itself is filled with enough attention-getting adrenaline to keep the film tight ... as is the love-hate relationship Bond eventually develops with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green, in a complex, nicely-nuanced performance) - the woman who, through the British government's treasury department, is funding Bond's entry into the game.

Miss Moneypenny, "Q", and the many over-the-top Bond gadgets are all missing here - though, happily, none are needed. No, this is Daniel Craig's show - Craig's interpretation of Bond - and damn, has he got it down. As said, never (or, at least, since Connery) have I seen a James Bond so thoroughly realized - a flawed man and merciless killer who makes mistakes and then comes back that much harder to correct them. It's an exceptional performance that, in one film, makes the James Bond character fully belong to Daniel Craig - and so-so reviews for Quantum of Solace aside (and yeah, now I have to see it), I look forward to that film and many more with this exceptional, extraordinary - and, oddly enough for a killer, all too human - Bond. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

NEVER BACK DOWN

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Stars: Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, Djimon Hounsou, Wyatt Henry Smith, Leslie Hope

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

(NOTE: The theatrical release of the film bears the PG-13 rating; what I saw was the extended "Beat Down" edition of the film on DVD, which includes more bone-crunching fight time - so is somewhat more violent in content.)

Take the hit cult film Fight Club, drop it into a high school setting, and you seemingly have Never Back Down. Seemingly. But thanks to the film's very likable, personable lead actor (Sean Faris) - along with some beautifully shot and choreographed mixed martial arts fight sequences, the film as a whole, thankfully, becomes more than the sum of its sometimes-cliched parts.

Faris stars as Jake Tyler, a high school kid in Iowa consumed with both anger and guilt over the death of his father. Constantly getting in fights and in trouble, Jake's mom (Leslie Hope) is hoping things will get better after relocating the family to Orlando, Florida when Jake's younger brother Charlie (Wyatt Henry Smith) - a young tennis prodigy - gets into an exclusive training school for the sport.

And at first things aren't bad; slowly Jake is accepted at school, and he even meets a hot blonde named Baja (Amber Heard) who seems as interested in him as he is her. When Baja invites Jake to a party at an exclusive mansion, however, Jake learns he's been set up by Baja and her boyfriend Ryan (Cam Gigandet, in full S.O.B. mode) for a fight. It seems that most of the school has seen video footage online, via YouTube and similar sites, of a free-for-all brawl that Jake started on the football field of his old school in Iowa, during a game and soon before moving, where he knocked out his biggest rival from the other team with one punch to the head ... and now Ryan, the local champion in an underground mixed martial arts fights competition, is determined (in full-on bully style) to show Jake early on that he's #1 in town.

When goaded until his rage forces him to fight Ryan, Jake gets the living snot kicked out of him at the party - in front of pretty much the entire school - and is helped home by his new best buddy Max (Evan Peters, in one of the best performances of the film). Though Jake wants none of it - and nothing to do with fighting - Max talks Jake into going to see the master trainer of mixed martial arts in Orlando, Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou) ... and while observing the moves and techniques there, Jake decides it's exactly what he does need (mainly to get revenge on Ryan), and talks himself into the advanced class. Roqua - a quiet, very moral man with his own secret past that haunts him - asks only one thing of Jake: so long as he trains in his gym, he cannot fight outside the gym. Jake agrees, knowing he has no intention of keeping that promise as soon as he's ready to take Ryan on again ... which he has his chance to do at the "Beat Down" championship match the next month. According to Max, details of the match are only sent to potential fighters at the last minute, via text message - and while Jake's not sure he wants such a public forum in which to take Ryan on again, he is sure he wants his revenge.

The movie, in its way, is full of the typical high school cliches that make it short on plot script, and (to a degree) even performances. What's surprising - and what elevates the film above what it would have been otherwise - are the fight sequences, which even the most non-fan of fight movies (aka, ME) will still get caught up in. Amber Heard is okay as the popular girl who learns the error of her ways and becomes a good girl instead, and Cam Gigandet does a great job playing a villain that, thanks to the script, is without so much as one redeeming quality to make him even remotely likable. Leslie Hope is also good as the mom who can't get a grip on who her son is anymore, even as she also may - deep down - hold him responsible for his father's death, as well. Djimon Hounsou and Wyatt Henry Smith - along with Faris - bring the best work to the film, in very real performances that make their scenes work.

But ultimately, it's the two "F's" - Faris and fighting - that make this film both entertaining and watchable (Faris really infuses Jake with a sense of vulnerability and passion; he's a guy trying to heal himself, and it's a long haul). Oh yeah, along with the smokin'-hot babes in bikinis and shirtless (and sweaty), well-built young guys; after all, you can't forget this is Florida. I saw this film as a recommendation from a very good friend - and if I, as a non-fan of fight films, can enjoy and get caught up in it ... that alone makes it worth watching for nearly anyone. *** - Reel Cool